Homeland Security scours New Bedford apartment complex where arrests were made Friday

Monday

Apr 22, 2013 at 12:01 AMApr 22, 2013 at 10:18 PM

Federal investigators removed boxes of evidence in searching a New Bedford apartment complex Monday where two people were arrested this weekend during the investigation into the Boston Marathon bombing.

At least three members of the FBI, wearing disposable white plastic hazmat type suits, walked in and out of the first-floor apartment at 69-71 Carriage Drive, located in the Hidden Brook complex, and worked at a folding table outside the building.

Brian Fraga

Federal investigators removed boxes of evidence in searching a New Bedford apartment complex Monday where two people were arrested this weekend during the investigation into the Boston Marathon bombing.

At least three members of the FBI, wearing disposable white plastic hazmat type suits, walked in and out of the first-floor apartment at 69-71 Carriage Drive, located in the Hidden Brook complex, and worked at a folding table outside the building.

U.S. Homeland Security investigators and agents from U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement secured the apartment early Monday morning and moved boxes of evidence into a large white trailer in the rear parking lot.

Investigators also put yellow crime scene tape around the building, telling reporters at the scene that access was restricted to the site. A New Bedford police officer also threatened to arrest reporters if they stepped onto the property.

Meanwhile, New Bedford Animal Control officers were also called Monday to remove a bearded dragon lizard from the apartment. The officers placed the lizard inside a large animal carrier and left the scene.

Neighbors said police and federal agents were present outside the building all weekend following a late Friday afternoon operation where federal SWAT teams swarmed on the neighborhood and took two men and one woman — all apparently in their early 20s — into custody.

The individuals were released, but authorities returned to the scene this weekend and arrested the two men on immigration-related charges, according to Immigrations and Customs Enforcement.

Officials did not release the men’s names Monday, or the exact charges they are facing. A spokeswoman for the U.S. Attorney’s Office in Boston said she could not answer questions relating to the arrests.

On Monday, Hidden Brook neighbors described a dramatic scene in their neighborhood.

“An FBI agent pointed the laser on his scope at me and told me to get away from the window,” said David Rymszewicz, who lives across the street from the raided apartment.

Rymszewicz was looking outside his window at the armada of armored vehicles and police cruisers descending on his street. He saw a large moving truck drive down the street and unload what seemed to be a platoon of SWAT team members.

“There were agents all over the place. It was scary for awhile,” he said.

Wayne Callahan, a resident who lives around the corner from the apartment, described seeing several snipers surrounding the building. At one point he went outside to go to a neighbor’s house when the police saw him.

“The cops yelled at us to get back inside before somebody got hurt,” Callahan said.

Neighbors described the neighborhood as being relatively quiet. They said many college-aged individuals have moved into the apartments in recent years.
Rymsewiz said that he at times heard people in the back of the raided building speaking loudly in a foreign language at night, though he did not recognize the language spoken.

“We’ve lived here 40 years and never seen anything like this,” said Darleen Rymszewicz, David’s wife. She added: “Sometimes you don’t know who your neighbors are.”